Exceed Your Limits!

One Step and One Day at a Time!







Thursday, July 14, 2011

As The Weekend Nears......

I am getting excited and terrified all at once.  This weekend is monumental for a variety of reasons:

1.  This will be my first full triathlon.  I am finally doing all three segments, although I "downgraded" to only do the 1/4 mile swim so I could enjoy the weekend and have less not stress.

2.  This is my first girls weekend in 13 years of marriage.  I realized that in 13 years of marriage I have NEVER done a girls weekend.  Well, even a girls overnight!  So, tomorrow I head out with a large group of ladies racing this weekend.  Of course, it isn't a full weekend, since my husband and kids will meet me Saturday afternoon for some play time, dinner, and for me to nurse the baby.  But, they will stay in their own hotel room while I stay with ladies racing the next morning so I can get a full night's rest and roll out of bed to the race that is beginning in the park where the hotel is!

3.  This is the first time I am leaving my son overnight!  I never left the girls overnight before they were at least a year old.  This kind of makes me sad and makes me feel guilty.

4.  This is my first multisports WEEKEND!  This race is part of a larger event that is a full weekend long and includes an olympic distance, a half ironman, a 10K, and a half marathon as well as the two shorter races on Sunday so I will be eating, sleeping, and breathing multisports ALL weekend.  It should be fun.

5.  My 5 year old is also doing her first triathlon.  The organizers have also put together a kids race that is on Sunday afternoon and my 5 year old is doing it.  I am so excited for her!

So, in about 24 hours I am off to Chelanman - what a wild weekend it will be!  Oh, yeah, Body and Mind, please take note that the SAME rules apply as two weeks ago!

Stay tuned for the results from my fun and crazy weekend!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Joy of Watching it Spread!

In the last few days, I have felt so blessed to watch my hard work begin to spread out across my family.  One of the main reasons I am doing this (besides to avoid expensive therapy bills) is to provide a good example for my children regarding living an active lifestyle.  My joy and moderate success is beginning to spread across our family members - and that is by far my greatest reward.

First, last night we were checking out a new bike shop close to our house.  The owner asked my 5 year old daughter how her summer vacation was going and what she was planning to do.  She started by talking about her sports camp we were headed to after our brief shopping visit.  Then, she told him she is doing a triathlon this weekend (she is doing a kid's tri after my race).  But, what also just shocked me is she explained to him "Mommy is the first one to do a triathlon, she did one already and now I want to do one!"  He responded, "wow, you are pretty proud of your mom, huh?" and she responded "Yeah, that is why I want to do one."  My heart melted just a bit at that point.

My two year old is also picking stuff up as we go.  The other day she was standing before me in a strange pose reaching down to her toe.  I asked her what she was doing and she replied "stretching, mama, like you!"  Loved it!  She also has been focused on eating better to grow strong.  I like that approach!

Then, today, my husband is all excited because he found the bike he wants.  He wants the same version of my bike (just the men's version) so that we can ride together, even if just occasionally.  I am so excited.  He has some strange misconception however that he will "smoke" me on a ride.  I will let him have that for now, reality will be harsh once he gets out there (can't WAIT to introduce him to the 28 mile course I rode on Sunday - hills and all!)

So, therein lies my joy these days - my hard work is rubbing off on my family and I hope and pray it continues so we can enjoy a family active lifestyle together.  I KNOW many of my readers have been doing the same hard work and enlisting their families to join and support them - please share your experiences of how your hard work has set a great example for your family - I think it can be motivational for everyone!